Processions on the Nile

The annual ancient Egyptian celebration of the Mysteries

of Osiris took place in all

major cities, including Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus.

It was the most important religious event of the year.

Osiris, lord of the underworld, was one of the most important and popular gods

and all rulers were believed to descend from him. The

Mysteries of Osiris were

celebrated between the 12th and 30th of the month of Khoiak (mid-October

to mid-November), when the Nile retreated, depositing fertile soil ready to be

sown. They reenacted Osiris’ murder and rebirth,

and culminated in two ritual processions.

The first procession took place

on the tenth day of the Mysteries of Osiris (22nd day of

Khoaik). Figures

of 33 gods accompanied a soil and barley figure of Osiris. Each figure was

placed in a papyrus barge measuring 67.5cm. Numerous offering models of these

barges have been discovered at the bottom of canals surrounding the Temple of

Amun-Gereb at Thonis-Heracleion, particularly the Grand Canal. They range in

size from 6 to 67.5cm and are made of lead –

a metal associated with Osiris. Their decoration imitates papyrus, mimicking

the real boats involved in this ritual. The barges were accompanied by 365 oil

lamps illuminating the fleet, one for each day of the year.

The second procession took

place on

the 29th day of Khoiak. A gilded wooden boat containing both Osiris

figures left the Temple of Amun-Gereb for a two-mile

journey. It travelled along the Grand Canal

from Thonis-Heracleion to the figures’ final resting place in the Osiris temple

in Canopus. Standards topped by emblems of a jackal-headed god, either Anubis

or Wepwawet (‘he who opens the way’), and the falcon-headed god Horus led the

way. The scene is depicted at Abydos, one of the main religious centres for

Osiris. The recent underwater finds at Canopus are incredible physical evidence of

these celebrations.

During the underwater excavations, numerous

ladles, oil lamps, statuettes and other offerings have been found at the bottom

of sacred canals. They illustrate the rituals and personal acts of devotion

made by participants, including Greeks, along the course of the procession.

The sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion has

revealed the largest quantity of bronze ritual equipment ever discovered in

Egypt. Metal objects like these were normally melted down in the past, but

because the city sank beneath the sea, a vast number of artefacts of unique

importance have been astonishingly well preserved. The objects here – ladles,

offering dishes and an incense burner – are evidence of the exceptional

celebrations that took place.

See spectacular objects excavated from these cities

that lay underwater for centuries in the BP exhibition Sunken cities: Egypt’s lost worlds (closing 27 November 2016).

Lead votive barques. Thonis-Heracleion, 400–100 BC. On loan from Maritime Museum, Alexandria.

Photo: Christoph Gerigk © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation.

Long-handled ladles. Thonis-Heracleion,

600–100 BC. On loan from Maritime Museum, Alexandria. Photo: Christoph Gerigk ©

Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation.

Offering dishes. Thonis-Heracleion, 600–100

BC. On loan from Maritime Museum, Alexandria. Photo: Christoph Gerigk © Franck

Goddio/Hilti Foundation.

Incense burner and shovel.  Thonis-Heracleion, 400–100 BC. On loan from Maritime Museum, Alexandria. Photo: Christoph Gerigk © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation.